I_call_the_duck

I found this about balut on wikipedia. These photos are NOT for the faint of heart. I'm not usually squeamish when it comes to food, but this...

A little too late for a rec, but how's Keen's for a cheap steakhouse these days? I haven't been in ages, but I remember it having an "American steakhouse" vibe. Here's the thread.

I don't find tilapia muddy at all. Since I'm a cheapskate, I usually substitute tilapia instead of sea bass for a variation of mom's steamed fish in a soy-ginger base. A favorite in the Duck household.

Congrats, johnjohn! I grew up in Bayside, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's changed considerably since I moved out on my own, so I'm not that familiar with what's out there now. My old favorites: Pizza - VIP Pizza, on Bell Blvd, off Northern Blvd. near the White Castle. Bagels - Slim's on Hoarce Harding Exp., near Springfield Blvd, or Bagel Oasis in Fresh Meadows, also on Hoarce Harding around 188th St. OK, I admit to not having been to any of these places in awhile, so maybe someone else can give an update.

I have way too much in my pantry and freezer. We have an entire shelf of canned soup. My husband likes it, but I'm not a big fan of it. Since I do most of the cooking, it doesn't get used, so sometimes I send him to work with a can or two. But I think the cans self-replicate, because there seems to be no end to that stuff. There are boxes and boxes of tea. I don't drink that much anymore because it, um, makes me go a lot. There are currently three jars of applesauce in the pantry. Not to mention the various pastas, crackers, grains, spices, condiments. Oy! We're also big suckers for two-for-one sales. My freezer is full of various meats, coffee, bones (for stock), and goodness knows whatever else. We were even talking about getting another freezer if we were to join one of those wholesale clubs ... ($1.99/pound for short ribs!!!) ... until last week when we had a brief power outage during that horribly hot week. I spent part of a restless night thinking about ways to cook all that meat in my freezer if that outage wasn't resolved soon, and the other part of the night obsessing about what I'd do if we DID have that extra freezer. The good thing about the power outage was that in only lasted a few hours, the meat was spared, and we decided not to invest in that extra freezer.

Not to completely discredit this study, but did the subjects in this study fast prior to eating this "meal"? There’s a reason why you’re not supposed to eat at least eight hours prior to a cholesterol check. Yes, Morgan Spurlock seriously endangered his health while filming Supersize Me. If I remember correctly, he gained about 20 pounds, his liver became enlarged, his cholesterol shot up...and this was at about the 20 day mark. His doctors warned him that if he'd continue, the damage could be irreversible.

That CallerID is a real hoot. My former roommate used to order pizza once a week from a place around the corner. He'd call, and before he would even say hello, the person on the other end would say, "large pizza with mushrooms, right? OK, 20 minutes."

I love my immersion blender. It's probably one of the most used things in my kitchen. That and my rice cooker. Things that are sitting around collecting dust are: - a Kernal Kutter - one of those rubber garlic peelers - a garlic press - a mandoline (I plan on using it one day.) - two waffle irons (one which my friend left at my house, and one which we actually bought) - a pasta maker (I plan on using that too. Really!) - a crock pot/fryer that looks like it’s a pain to clean so I don't use it - a George Foreman Grill which we got for free and have used a few times when we first got it but is now unused. I blame Mr. Duck for most of these purchases, and there's more, I'm sure. andiesenji, I love those whisks!

No, because $138/pp (LBF's tasting menu) is significantly more than $30/pp. If money were no object, yes I probably would go. On the other hand, South Street was doing its own RW a few weeks back. We went to Gayle, where we had a fantastic meal, and will definitely go again.

Bumping up this thread, since Mr. Duck and I will be in Newport during the last weekend in August. I definitely want to try Flo's for a clam roll, but are there any other places that are worth a visit?

Milk.

Welcome, HD73! I wouldn't write off Restaurant Week, but like Andrew and Katbert said, you have to do your research. It helps that most of the restaurants give their menus prior to the event and that their regular menus are on their websites. With that in mind, you can figure out which restaurants are worth the $30 prix-fixe and which ones are not. Rip offs? Marathon Grill, for one. Deals? Le Bar Lyonnaise and La Famiglia. Yes, they make substitutions from the regular menu, but considering that antipasti at La Famiglia starts at $10, pastas $17, and a piece of chicken is $26, I'd say this would be one of the more worthwhile deals.

Hey, what's wrong with a Ho Ho? One of my favorite cold salads is made with chick peas, cherry tomatoes, basil, onions, lots of garlic, and crumbled feta in a light vinaigrette. It's great if it's marinated overnight to let the flavors blend together. Then again, with all that garlic, you just may scare the kiddies.

I'm bumping up this thread because I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread on Happy Hours, or whatever, but here goes. On Fridays during the summer, the Striped Bass has a free raw bar from 5pm to 7pm. The raw bar includes a variety of oysters, chilled shrimp, and yellowfin tuna tartare. It usually fills up by 5:30, so it's a good idea to get there early and be near the food. Unfortunately, no drink specials, but to wash this down, Mr. Duck and I had a nice Chardonnay from Bourgogne. Maybe one day we'll actually eat there, but for now, this will do.

Hey Charlie, you beat me to it. "Long time established?" Wait, not only does that sound grammatically incorrect, but did they just open a year ago? Are they talking dog years? Then again, writing "restaurant that desparately needs business" doesn't sound as good. ETA: And Estia already offers free apps during their Happy Hours (with drink specials to boot). I don't need to send them no stinkin' pictures.

Thanks V, for showing us both the inspired and lazy/time constrained (I tend to fall into the latter category) ways to cook fish. Now my cooking is more home-style than the likes of what you've showed us, but I have a few basic questions, so please bear with me everyone. In your arsenal of oils, what do you use to sauté? On spices…how much do you purchase at a time? I don’t usually use things like lecithin or fennel pollen, but for other spices, how much should I get, and how long will it last in my pantry if stored properly?

Wow. Sounds great. Is it a tomato-based ketchup? I sometimes stir-fry shrimp in a ketchup-based sauce. I'd love to try using this in that dish.

I actually had a problem with the noodles sticking to the pan in my pre-microwave days. To reheat my noodles, I used to add them directly to the wok--which probably was not hot enough to begin with--thus resulting in a sticky mess. Pam, eh? Gotta try that next.

Thank you, Ah Leung. I've always had trouble with the noodles sticking whenever I make this dish. Now I know the trick! Just out of curiousity, what did you do before you had a microwave? Would steaming produce the same texture/softness? A variation that I love but have yet to try is made with pickled mustard greens.

I got an email with Marigold Kitchen's menu. Four courses for $40. First Course Tuna Carpaccio with Pickled Eggplant and Tabouleh or Organic Green Salad with Strawberries and Bulgarian Feta Second Course Corn Vichyssoise with Warm Foie Gras or Caraway Gnocchi with English Peas and Sheep's Milk Cheese Third Course Leg of Lamb with Roasted Eggplant and Turkish Coffee or Seared Monkfish with Shrimp and Golden Beets Fourth Course Mocha Float with Almond Cream or Roasted Peach with White Chocolate Shortcake and Black Pepper Ice Cream

I have a cousin who does that. "Hi, Karen. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. How are you? Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh." We call him Elmer Fudd.

Mail order catalogs Hickory Farms and Swiss Colony has tons of processed cheeses. And there's always aeresol spray cheese. They even come in a special star tip so you can make pretty designs. Please don't ask me how I know this.

^^ To be honest, I don't know much else about it. My brain stopped reading at Foie Gras.

The first restaurant listed--Alma de Cuba, mentioned a Foie Gras Cubano. DAMN! Just when I thought it was safe to save money and eat in, this comes along.

^^Yeah, what Diann asked. And do you make your own puff dough, or *gasp* buy it premade?